


Going to America...

by DK65



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin
Genre: Alternate Universe - World War II, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-13
Updated: 2016-06-13
Packaged: 2018-07-14 19:56:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,988
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7187951
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DK65/pseuds/DK65
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After Dunkirk, the Stark and Lannister-Baratheon children are sent to the United States, accompanied by Tyrion. He is left in charge at Casterly Rock, because Tywin has left for Washington DC to Do Important Things.<br/>These characters belong to GRRM.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Going to America...

It had been a dismal journey. They'd had to leave Great Britain soon after Dunkirk; both Ned Stark and Robert Baratheon had died during Operation Dynamo, taking soldiers off the beaches. The mere threat of a German invasion had led Mrs Lannister-Baratheon to arrange passages to the States for her entire family--both her brothers, herself and her three children. However, her twin, Jaime, had immediately upped and joined the RAF; the younger brother, Tyrion, a fellow at Oxford who had just completed his doctorate and looked forward to a teaching position, was forced to reconsider his plans to stay on in England when Cersei insisted Jaime would need her to stay in London, just in case... 

As for the Stark children joining the Lannister-Baratheons, it was entirely Tyrion's idea. Lady Stark would spend her time in Scotland, managing the estate, with the help of a few land girls. She had lost her father a year or so ago, to cancer; her uncle was a war correspondent and her brother was busy documenting the lives and struggles of the Okies. And the deceased Stark and Baratheon patriarchs had been schoolfellows. So why shouldn't the Stark children accompany their Baratheon playmates/friends to the States? Why not indeed? There were very good arguments against this proposal, vociferously given tongue by Robb, Arya and Rickon.

"Mother, you know very well that you will need us to help you manage Winterfell! I'm almost fifteen, and I could be a help!"

"Mother, why in the world do we have to go ANYWHERE with that loathsome Joffrey? I don't mind his sister, brother or uncle as much as I detest him!"

"I want to take Shaggy with me! If I can't, I won't leave Winterfell!"

Jon, Sansa and Bran remained silent; Jon, the son of Ned Stark's deceased sister, because it was his habit; Sansa, because she was still shaken by the death of her father and did not want to cause problems for her mother, and Bran, because he tried to understand why his mother would want to send them so far from home.

He ended the argument by asking his mother, "Mum, do you think the Germans will bomb Scotland and try to take over, the way they did in Norway?"

His mother said, "Bran, I don't think they can take us over so easily, but they will try and they will bomb Scotland. I will feel much better if all of you are away in a country still at peace. I know Joffrey is difficult to get along with, Arya ("that is an understatement, mother!") but we must all do our bit. Robb, I appreciate the sentiment, but I think you need to finish your schooling and perhaps go to university rather than staying on here. No, Rickon, you can't take Shaggy; they will quarantine him. It's better if he stays behind in Winterfell."

Their mother was firm and calm; she hid her grief behind a stoic facade. The children being away meant that she would devote herself to managing the land and helping out with first aid in case there was an air raid close to Winterfell. So the children prepared to go to the States by ship. 

It was not a pleasant journey; Sansa was sick almost all the time, Joffrey got into fights with Robb and Jon ("A pair of cowards, the two of you! I would have stayed behind and fought the Boche who killed my father, but you two...") until his uncle stopped him with a few sharp words ("You're thirteen, Joffrey; do you think any recruiting sergeant in his senses would sign you up for the army? If you do, you're a bigger fool than I thought you were. And as for Robb and Jon, no one would sign them up either; they're only fifteen! Now shut up, go and play a few games on deck and give us all some peace!"), Arya kept trying to get into the engine room to help, Bran had his hands full managing Rickon on the rampage, and Tommen spent the entire voyage worrying about his kittens, left to the less-than-tender care of his mother. Myrcella spent her time calming Tommen, helping Bran manage Rickon and nursing Sansa. As for Tyrion, he drank copious amounts of alcoholic beverages to survive the voyage. As he was travelling with children, he tried to be discreet about his drinking.  
When they finally arrived in Casterly Rock in California--after the miserable voyage and a long railway journey, during which Sansa recovered--it was to find that Tywin Lannister had departed for Washington. He had left a letter for his son, which Tyrion duly received from his Aunt Genna, who had run the Lannister home ever since his mother's death.

Tywin informed Tyrion (in the letter) that he was in charge of the household, for the duration of the war. Joffrey was to be sent to Crakehall's, a military school where Jaime had studied. The two older Stark boys, Jon and Robb, were to go to the Eyrie, in New York State, where their father had studied briefly some thirty years ago, when their grandfather had been Britain's ambassador to the States. Tyrion was to educate Tommen, Myrcella, Sansa, Arya, Bran and Rickon at home; suitable arrangements would be made for them in time.

After his weary fellow travellers had dined and rested, Tyrion called them into his father's study (his, for the duration of the war) the next day where he read the contents of the letter to them. There was an immediate uproar; Joffrey wanted to know why in the world he was being sent to Crakehall's; Jon was annoyed enough to ask why he and Robb had travelled all the way to California when they could just as easily have stayed in New York and Sansa rather tremulously asked how he would manage to educate all of them. "We girls had a governess," she said, "and Mr Luwin used to teach Bran and Rickon."

"I had Miss Eglantine," chimed in Myrcella, "and if we were to be educated privately, Uncle Tyrion, you should have got her to travel with us. I know Miss Mordane was quite old and almost retired--she was your mum's and aunt Lysa's governess, isn't that right, Arya?--but Miss Eglantine could have come with us."

"Miss Eglantine, my dear niece," said Tyrion patiently, "was eager to do some war work; she did not want to come to the States. I could not have left the two of you behind in New York, Jon; I had no idea my father had made these arrangements for the two of you. Joffrey, you will do as your grandfather bids you or else there will be consequences. Miss Sansa, I will take your lessons in languages, history, mathematics, geography and the sciences; my aunt Darlessa, who is an excellent cook, needlewoman and knitter, will handle household management and economy. As for you, Tommen, Bran and Rickon, I think you three will go to the Eyrie when you are old enough."

"What about me?"demanded Arya. "I wanted to learn to hunt and shoot and fish."

"I think the estate manager, Sandor Clegane, who is an extremely reliable fellow, although not known to be a diplomat, will help you there, Miss Arya. He served as batman to both my uncles during the Great War. And after that, he was their valet. He spent some time in England, with Cersei."  
Two months after their arrival in California, Jon and Robb went with Sandor Clegane to catch the train to New York; they would meet Bronze Yohn Royce, a teacher at the Eyrie, who would take them to the school, located in upstate New York. After that, Sandor drove Joffrey down to Crakehall's; Joffrey had made a nuisance of himself from mid-July to early September because he felt it was beneath his dignity to be sent to a military academy. Clegane had made it his business to take Joffrey in hand. He'd been surprisingly good at it too, much to everyone's relief.

Tyrion had, in the meantime, taken charge of the younger children. He'd hoped to spend the war years doing something more to fight the Nazis, but he'd bide his time for now. He gave the children tests, to see how far along they were in their studies. Arya was excellent at mathematics, but uninterested or inattentive when it came to other subjects. Sansa, on the other hand, was not very good at sums, but she had a good grasp of languages, history, geography and the basics of science. Myrcella, unlike both Stark sisters, was quite good at all the subjects, but sometimes apt to play the fool or be careless. Bran was much cleverer than Tommen when it came to studies, and young Rickon, who was only three, was left to doodle on sheets of paper--Tyrion would talk to his aunts about him. He'd also tested Jon and Robb--he found both boys to be good at mathematics but very careless when it came to the languages and other subjects, which is when he got very stern with both of them. As for Joffrey, he appeared to think it was beneath him to study and was often slapped for his refusal to do so.

He was soon able to make study plans for all the children; he would work with Sansa and Arya on their weakest subjects, while he gave them work to do on their own in subjects that they were good at. He gave Myrcella work that she did on her own, with some supervision from him. He spent time with Tommen and Bran, while Aunt Genna, who had brought up four or five sons of her own, taught Rickon to read and write and count. "He's quite a handful," she said, almost admiringly. Aunt Darlessa, Uncle Tygett's widow, taught the girls cookery, sewing, embroidery, knitting and household management. Tyrion made all the children take up riding, shooting and fishing with Sandor Clegane; Sansa had an unhealthy habit of cooping herself up indoors, sewing or reading, and Myrcella tended to imitate her. 

A few months after this routine had become a matter of habit (this must have been just before Christmas, when they were making plans for the boys to come home) he received another letter from his father. It appeared that the Eyrie had a sister school for girls, called the Vale, managed by a Mrs Waynewood--Myrcella and the two Stark girls would go there in September of the new year. The Eyrie was going to accept boarders as young as four years old, so Tommen, Bran and Rickon would accompany their older brothers. As for Joffrey, it appeared he had severe problems, not only with learning but also with his behaviour. Mr Crakehall was more than capable of coping with the former; it was his firm kindness that had enabled Jaime to overcome his dyslexia. For the latter, Joffrey would need to see a psychiatrist. "He would not come home to the Rock," his grandfather told his uncle, "until he had learned to control his temper." 

"As for you, Tyrion: I think you have done rather well, managing the children and the household in my absence. I don't know if your sister wrote to tell you--I received an extremely hysterical letter from her--that Jaime was (almost) captured by the Nazis. He was shot down over France and wounded; he was rescued by the Resistance and somehow brought back to England. He has been badly wounded; he lost his right hand. He's recovering now, but he will visit the States next July to talk of the war and his part in it. Perhaps you should accompany him. If you choose, you can return with him to England. I don't think we will remain isolated from events in Europe and Asia very long."


End file.
